Briefly Spock looked back at Steven and seemed to pull his Vulcan half closely around him. "I have a strange need to know what it was he would not tell them. What it was that, what he did, what he said that clearly destroyed their mental powers."

"You sure he said or did something?"

"The way they grabbed their heads and cried out before they collapsed was evidence of that, Captain. He clearly said and did something that destroyed that ability. I watched them put pressure on him, pressure I am not sure I could have withstood."

Cautiously Kirk placed a hand on Spock's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "You do not know that, Spock."

Under his hand he felt his friend momentarily stiffen then felt a slight trembling, saw Spock's body was slightly shaking, and he gripped Spock's other shoulder and turned him, only to see his friend had his eyes tightly closed and shaking his head, "What? Tell me, Spock. What?"

"I, I know, Jim. I do know." when Spock looked up at him Kirk was horrified to see tears around his friend's eyes and such deep anguish in those eyes, "I know as they attacked my mind first. They were going to take turns and slowly rape my mind, I could not fight the three of them and they knew it. They were going to slowly take turns raping my mind but he stopped them and they turned on him. He made them stop and they took their anger out on him. I was aware of a sensation like a burning waterfall of pain over my mind before they turned on him. They were beyond furious that he was able to stop them without them doing damage to me."

For a long time Spock had looked away from him and at Harris, slowly shaking his head, "He dared to challenge them. He had stopped them from doing more to me than letting me know what they were capable of, of what they were going to do, and that they would each enjoy a turn at doing it. They clearly encountered something in his mind that he would not yield to them and that infuriated them. He, he said and did something that stopped them, that severely stunned them, but they had already damaged him. When they started to rape my mind I could not stop them. I could feel their power and sense their delight at what they were going to do. I, I would not have survived it."

"How then did he,"

"I have no idea what he did nor do I know how he did it." Spock looked back at him with misery still on his face, "I do know that he stopped them, that he brutally destroyed their mental abilities, and that he did it because of me. I also know that they have damaged his mind, Jim. They have hurt his mind but not to his core. I know he is there. I do not understand how he can still be there, but he is there. He is there and waiting for me to help him."

"Spock, McCoy told me that he is,"

"Jim, he is there. He let me know he is still there. He is waiating for me to help him come back."

"How? McCoy said he was totally unresponsive."

"When I picked him up he was aware, he knew it was me, he knew it was over."

Although he wanted to know more, wanted to know how Spock knew he respected his friend's right to privacy. Somehow whatever was between Spock and Steven was something he was not a part of and he had to accept it. There was some bond there, some connection, and Kirk was pleased to know that Spock had had a friend when he was at the Academy. He had heard tales of "that Vulcan cadet and the traitor". Often he had thought how he would like to track down the traitor and thank him for without what he did Spock would not have been able to stay in the Academy and they would never have met. Without what Steven had done he would not have one of his closest friends.

As he watched Spock walked back to the bed and slowly stroked his hands through Steven's hair four times and paused for a moment with his eyes closed, saw him shake, watched almost in horror as Spock removed his hands, clutched tehm and pulled them tightly to his chest as he slowly backed away from Steven with his eyes shut and shaking his head, only stopping when his back pressed against a wall.

Gripping both of Spock's shoulders Kirk gently shook him once, "Spock?"

"He, he would not, would not tell them. He would not tell them."

"Tell them what?"

A/N Will be away for a few days as helping out after the storm. Should be back in five days then give me a day to thaw out as will be going out in the cold southerly gales to check livestock. Enjoy and have fun!